


Where There is Hope

by boymeetsevils



Series: The Louis/James (Louames) Series [3]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Nervous Louis, Nervousness, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 20:43:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18059732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boymeetsevils/pseuds/boymeetsevils
Summary: Louis decides to admit that he has feelings for James. He has no idea how to do that exactly but he figures it out as he goes along.Part 3 of the Louis/James (Louames) series, but can also be read as a standalone fic. First kiss ensues.[Set after Episode 3: Broken Toys. Consistent with the Violet captured and shoot Lilly route]Update: This series is now an "Everything is Fine/No one was Killed or Mutilated" AU. (Except Marlon, who is dead.)





	Where There is Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Title from BTS - Sea

 

 

 

_Meet me down in the piano room after sundown._

_Before you freak out, nothing's wrong - I just want to show you something._

_\- L_

  
  
James approached the piano room slowly, walking cautiously through the darkness. He could have brought a candle or a flashlight but he felt guilty using the supplies that Clementine had given him. He convinced himself that he was used to seeing by moonlight only, forgetting that it was darker indoors where light could only filter through windows.

As he turned the corner he saw Louis sitting at the piano, lit by a few candles in the room. He walked towards the light, glad that at least one of them had brought candles.

James sat next to Louis on the piano bench and saw him jump in surprise when he realized he was there.

"You didn't think I was coming?" James couldn't help but laugh softly. It was rare to see Louis like this, in the stillness and quiet.

"No! I mean, yes. I mean - I didn't think you would not come."

James furrowed his eyebrows together for a second, trying to figure out what he had meant to say.

Louis quickly interrupted, "Nevermind, it's - I guess I should say, I'm glad you made it. I know that things have been... hard, since we got back and you started staying here with us. Everyone has had a lot on their mind - I guess I could be included in that."

He cleared his throat, thinking about what he was going to say next. It occurred to James that Louis was acting differently than normal. He felt the urge to ask him what was wrong but he didn't want to embarrass him. James would have been mortified if someone had pointed out if he was acting weird and he didn't want to do that to Louis. As much as he acted confident and gregarious, James could sense that he had a certain insecurity and sensitivity beneath all of that.

"I realized I didn't get to show you the best part about all of Ericson," Louis continued, gesturing towards the record player beside him.

James blinked, looking at the record player and then back at Louis.

"It's... an old record player? Is this one of your jokes?"

"One of my jokes!?" Louis gasped in faux outrage, bringing his hand to his chest. "Would I joke about something like this!?"

He stood up from the bench, making his way around to the back of the record player and turning it on a low volume.

James' confused expression quickly turned to amazement as he heard the first few notes of the song. "It - it works? I've never seen one that still works!"

"You mean you haven't heard music since before this all started!? Are you serious!?"

"No, I haven't. You have records? How many?"

Louis gestured towards the glass cabinet behind him. Records were stacked all the way up to the top shelf.

James walked up to the cabinet and started looking through the records, completely in awe. Louis couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"You can pick anything you want. They all work. Trust me, I've tested them."

"This... this is amazing. I used to love music when I was young."

"Used to?" Louis asked, his tone slightly teasing.

"I... never thought I'd be able to hear music again, so I hadn't thought about it in a long time."

Their eyes met and Louis' smile wavered for a moment as he felt a pang of sympathy for the other boy. 

James shyly averted his gaze and continued shuffling through the records while Louis tried to collect his thoughts.

"Well, you can listen to music anytime you want now. Honestly, the other kids take it for granted - I'm the only one that spends a lot of time using the record player or the piano. I'll let you have first dibs on it though - you deserve it after being deprived of music for such a long time."

"Are you sure? I know you really love music so I-"

"I insist. What kind of a jerk would I be if I didn't let you listen to what you wanted?"

Louis could feel James' nervous energy fading fast, replaced by excitement. It made him feel giddy to see him like this - he felt like he was seeing a part of James that only few people had been able to see.

"Is this okay?" James asked, pulling out an old Elvis Presley record to show Louis.

"How could the King of Rock and Roll ever not be okay? Here, I'll show you how it works."

Louis removed the Carpenters record that had been playing and replaced it with the one that James had chosen. To his surprise, James sat down on the floor, holding his knees to his chest.

Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love" began playing softly and James closed his eyes, letting the music take over his senses. Louis clumsily sat down next to James on the floor, trying not to disturb him. He had wanted to talk to James while they listened to music together, but he couldn't bring himself to interrupt James' moment of happiness.

"Would it be weird if... if I lie down? I - I used to listen to music lying down when I was little."

"Be my guest," Louis replied. "I used to do that too."

They both lowered themselves down to lie on the hard floor together, close but not touching each other. James lay his head right next to the record player, his eyes closed, concentrating on the sound of the music and the long-forgotten emotions it brought to the surface. Louis was quiet for a long time, watching James' profile as discreetly as he could in the dim light.

It wasn't hard for him to get away with this because James was completely lost in the music. Meanwhile, Louis felt speechless. Even though they were quiet and not touching, being with James felt... intimate. Lying together in the near-darkness, listening to their breathing along with the music... he had never felt so close to someone before.

Louis gently shuffled towards the other boy, until they were so close that he could feel the heat radiating from James' body. James started laughing suddenly.

"Is something funny?" Louis asked, trying not to let his nerves show. "I wasn't trying to be funny, which I know is weird, but I-"

"Nothing's funny," James assured him. "I'm just happy."

"Oh. Oh, that's good."

"It makes me feel like... I'm still the person I was before the dead started walking. Deep down, maybe."

The words made Louis pause for a moment. He could sense how vulnerable James felt - how hard it was for him to speak about the past. "Of course you're the same person. I know that we - we've all had to change, but who you were is still there at your core."

James was taken aback, unsure of how to respond. He wanted to believe Louis' words but it was extremely difficult for him to accept. "I... I try to tell myself that, but it's..." he swallowed, unable to find the right words to express how he felt. "It's hard."

"If it's hard for you to believe yourself, maybe you could try to believe me?" Louis suggested. "I know that we're still getting to know each other but I know that you're a good person. I mean... I know you've been through hell, James. But despite everything, a sense of goodness and humanity is still there at your core. You care about people. You care about the world."

"I..." James swallowed, his voice barely above a whisper. Louis wouldn't have been able to hear him if they hadn't been lying so close to one another. "Thank you. I appreciate you saying that. I really do. It... means a lot - for you to be so kind."

"You don't need to thank me. In fact, I should probably thank you - for coming to meet me here tonight. For saving my friends' lives and probably my life too. And for... for staying."

"Part of me always wanted to stay," James admitted. "I just... the last time I was living with people..."

"You don't need to tell me anything unless you want to and feel ready to, you know. I understand why you were hesitant. Hell, I think it would have been weird for you not to be cautious at first. I was just... worried that you would decide to leave."

"You were?"

"Yeah, I was." Louis looked up at the ceiling, something that James had realized he often did when he was nervous. "You cared enough about us to go on a crazy rescue mission for people you'd never met - you know that we care about you too, right?"

"Oh." He couldn't help but feel surprised every time Louis said something like this. "That's... really nice of you. I feel the same."

"So you do care about me!" Louis beamed, elbowing the other boy gently as he teased him.

James groaned and covered his eyes with his hands, thankful that he couldn't see his cheeks flush in the dim light. Louis laughed softly, standing up and offering a hand to James.

"Will you come sit on the window ledge with me?"

James opened his eyes and took Louis' hand to help him up. "Okay," he agreed, relieved that he had stopped teasing him. 

The two boys sat on the window ledge together, the music still playing in the background. Louis took a deep breath, trying to gather enough courage to ask James the question he had been waiting to ask him all night.

"I just - I was thinking... Have you ever... been with someone before? I mean, in a... romantic sort of way?"

"It was a long time ago," James answered. He couldn't help but wonder why Louis was asking him this - he tried not to hope for anything, but it was difficult to stop himself.

"Oh. If "never" counts as a long time, then, yeah, me too," Louis took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he would say next. "Do you think you could ever, you know, feel that way or - I mean, have something like that again? Would you want to?"

James suddenly realized where these questions were leading and his heart started racing. He stared at Louis with wide eyes, unable to form a reply before Louis continued.

"I mean I - I... how do people do this? I think I - it's totally cool if you don't feel the same way, we could still be friends and I don't think it has to make it awkward or weird or - I just mean I... I like you, I think, in that way."

"You do?"

"I... yeah, I do. Do you - could we, do you think - would you mind if I kissed you?"

James acted quickly, leaning forward and pressing his lips against Louis' before he lost his nerve. A few seconds later, he pulled back enough to look into Louis' wide eyes and see his shocked expression. 

"You - wait, you like me?"

He laughed breathlessly. "I thought I made that clear by kissing you, but yes, I like you."

"Wow, uh, I - that's cool. We both like each other. Cool."

James gave Louis a bright smile, moving his face close enough that they could feel each other's breath. This time, he let Louis bring his lips forward first as he could sense that he was a bit hesitant and unsure about what he was doing. Their lips met and James moved closer still, carefully wrapping his arms around Louis' waist as they kissed slowly.

Both boys were timid and nervous at first, worrying about whether the other person was enjoying this as much as they were. But soon their minds seemed to slow; the world around them seemed to become distant and forgotten. For a few long moments, James felt Louis' lips moving against his own, their skin brushing gently against each other, and nothing else. For the first time in a long time, the past ceased to exist. 

When they parted, James looked into Louis' warm brown eyes and smiled wider than Louis had ever seen him smile before. He lowered his head to rest on Louis' shoulder, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms tightly around the other boy. He felt strong arms wrapping around his back and pulling him close. What had just happened began to sink in and fear gripped his chest for a moment. 

_I can't go through this again. I can't lose someone again._

James did his best to push the thoughts away and the feeling gradually faded. _Louis isn't Charlie. He's completely different._

_What's the point of living if you don't really **live**?_

He also felt that it was far too late for him to keep himself from caring deeply about Louis. There was something between them, a connection that he hadn't felt in a very long time. He didn't want to deny himself the happiness that Louis made him feel any longer. He felt himself let go of the fear, left with a feeling of overwhelming warmth and happiness that he had never thought he would be able to feel again.

Louis interrupted his thoughts after a few minutes, chuckling quietly. "As much as I am enjoying cuddling with you, and definitely don't want to stop, I do need to breathe, you know."

James opened his eyes and sat straight up, quickly loosening his grip around Louis' torso. "Oh, I - I'm sorry! I didn't realize I -"

Louis grinned, gently guiding James' head back down onto his shoulder. "It's okay. I kinda liked you holding onto me so tightly."

James closed his eyes again, feeling flustered for a second but still warm. He felt one of Louis' hands brush his hair back and then soft lips being pressed gently to his forehead. The touch was so unexpected that it elicited a breathless, nervous laugh, though he was overwhelmed by the feeling of tenderness and affection that came over him.

"You're happy, right?" Louis asked. "Just, ah - just making sure."

"Yes," James assured him. "I'm happy."


End file.
